Garcia to Present Lunch Policy Findings at GUSD Meeting

Crescenta Valley High School students now have the freedom to go off campus for lunch. The GUSD board will be discussing a change in that policy at the next meeting.

By Jason KUROSU

The Glendale Unified School District continues to assess whether or not to close Crescenta Valley High School’s campus during the lunch periods, a matter which has generated months of discussion and deliberation. Incidents of student misbehavior, including drug arrests and car accidents, prompted the argument for rescinding Crescenta Valley High’s open lunch policy, a policy that CV alone has enjoyed amongst all the schools in the district for nearly 20 years.

Deputy Superintendent John Garcia spent many of these months gathering data for the district, both in terms of statistics and of reactions from students, teachers and members of the community during a series of public meetings. Garcia will present his findings during the Jan. 17 GUSD board of education meeting.
Proponents of closing the campus point to rising truancy and absence rates and various drug-related issues while those against closing the campus insist these incidents represent a small minority of the student population and do not reflect the student body as a whole.

Students have mostly been among those in favor of keeping the campus open or perhaps modifying the policy so only certain students can leave campus during lunch, such as those who have not tallied any unexcused absences or tardies. At a meeting one neighbor complained of kids using drugs in the area and reckless driving, while two other neighbors stated the reckless driving was more from the parents in the morning and afternoon than the kids at lunch.

The CVHS PTSA voted to keep the campus open.

Dr. Garcia’s presentation will be purely a discussion item, he said. The district has not reached a decision yet, but should it decide to close the campus, there would still be a period of about four to six months in which the logistics of closing the campus, including the erection of potential fencing and increased security personnel, would have to be considered before finally closing CV for lunch.

The Jan. 17 board of education meeting will be held at its regular location, at the Glendale Unified School District office at 223 N. Jackson St. in Glendale.